2014 Jaguar F-Type Already Racks Up More Than 2,000 Orders

Despite not officially being on sale yet, the 2014 Jaguar F-Type has already racked up more than 2,000 sales, which is almost a third of the 6,000 to 7,000 examples Jaguar is hoping to sell in 2013.

Most of those orders come from customers in Europe, where the F-Type made its official debut, but the U.S. is likely to be one of the biggest markets for the car.

Jaguar’s current sales are still a long way from the peak of 140,000 cars it sold prior to 2008’s global financial crisis, though the company is hoping the introduction of the new F-Type will help invigorate its brand image in the eyes of consumers.

Speaking with What Car?, Jaguar’s global brand director Adrian Hallmark explained that there’s a lot of potential in the sports car segment, and that the success of the F-Type should have a flow-on effect on its other models, particularly its future models such as the rumored X-Type replacement. Hallmark is expecting sales of the F-Type to reach as much as 10,000 units annually by as early as 2014.

The new F-Type will hit U.S. showrooms in May, initially with three engine options. The base F-Type, priced from $69,000, will come with a 340-horsepower supercharged V-6. The mid-spec F-Type S will get a 380-horsepower version of the same supercharged V-6 in the base model, while the range-topping F-Type V8 S, priced from $92,000, will get a 495-horsepower supercharged V-8.

No matter which model you choose, all F-Types will be able to reach 60 mph from rest in around 5 seconds or less, so they’re all quite capable when it comes to acceleration. Of course, cars with the V-6 are likely to feel more nimble and use less fuel, while those with the V-8 come with more grunt.